Marketing Strategies For Farmers And Ranchers

Opportunities in Agriculture

CONTENTS

Farmers Markets 2

Community Supported
Agriculture 4

On-Farm Sales/Tourism 5

Direct Marketing Meat
and Animal Products 8

Season Extension 10

Value-Added Products 11

Sales to Restaurants
and Institutions 12

Cooperative Marketing/
Campaigns 15

Internet 17

Renewable Energy 18

Evaluating New Farm
Enterprises 18

Resources 20

Published by the Sustainable
Agriculture Network (SAN),
the national outreach arm
of the Sustainable Agriculture
Research and Education
(SARE) program, with funding
from the Cooperative State
Research, Education and
Extension Service, USDA.

Also available at:

www.sare.org/publications/
marketing.htm

1L

SUSTAINABLE
AGRICULTURE
IST-E-T-W-O-R-K

THE NATIONAL OUTREACH ARM OF USDA-SARE

Marketing Strategies
for Farmers and Ranchers

vA'] A i

Creative marketing ideas range from extending farmers market sales through the winter (left) to diversifying
from grain into pumpkins (right). The Bolsters of Deep Root Farm in Oregon's Willamette Valley and the Walters
in Kansas have both realized new profits. - Market photo by Ted Coonfield; pumpkins by William Rebstock

FOR 23 YEARS, ALL THE MILK FROM JEFF AND JILL BURKHARTS'
80-cow dairy in central Iowa left the farm in a bulk
truck for processing and sale in the commodity markets.
These days, however, the farm's milk takes a different
route to customers. In 2002, the Burkharts decided to
build a bottling plant and start selling their milk directly
from the farm.

Today, the Burkharts' 80-acre rotationally grazed farm
has become a regular destination for customers through-
out the Des Moines area, attracting 100 visitors a day
and up to 400 when they hold a special event. As the
Burkharts had hoped, visitors leave the farm with gallons
of fresh, pasteurized milk as well as other products.

"Business is booming," says Jeff Burkhart, who
received a grant from the Sustainable Agriculture
Research and Education (SARE) program in 2004
to test two marketing strategies: an open house event
and a Website launch. A year to the day after filling

their first milk bottle, the Burkharts premiered their
Picket Fence Creamery with an open house that drew
more than 900 people for farm tours, children's activities
and special sales offers.

The Burkharts have been innovators before. In 1988,
they divided their 80-acre grass farm into paddocks,
where they rotationally graze 80 Jersey cows moved
twice daily to ensure ideal field conditions. Once they
started the creamery, they began making butter, cheese
curds, and 25 flavors of ice cream. To include other
farmers in their venture, they turned the creamery store
into a local foods marketplace, featuring everything from
eggs, beef, elk and bison, to maple syrup, baked goods,
popcorn and wine from 76 other central Iowa families.

"We're taking the raw product, which is the grass,
and then adding value to it by feeding it to the cows,
then taking the milk and bottling it or processing it
into butter, ice cream and cheese," Burkhart says.

12/06

Jeff and Jill Burkhart
opened an on-site
creamery to showcase
their Iowa dairy
products, which they
promote through farm
days and a new Website
developed with help
from SARE.
-Photo by Jerry DeWitt

"Our customers really seem to appreciate it - they can
see and smell and touch everything, they can watch the
processing through the observation window, and they
really think that's neat."

The Burkharts team up with two other farms nearby -
Prairieland Herbs and Northern Prairie Chevre - to share
advertising costs and prompt customers to make a day
of their farm experience.

Shifting to on-farm sales has been a lot of work, the
Burkharts say, but the rewards are many. For one, the
couple now earns a good living. Just as important, the
new enterprise has fostered family togetherness. "We're
doing this as a family," Burkhart says. "We get to work
together, our kids are here, and we don't have to com-
mute to work. That means a lot."

Proactive marketing strategies have proven the key
to success for many agricultural enterprises. Rather than
accepting the relatively low prices typically offered by
wholesalers, direct marketers put the power to turn a
profit back in their own hands by capturing a greater
share of the consumer dollar. Direct marketing channels
offer direct connections to customers, providing them
an opportunity to buy fresh products - grass-fed beef,
just-picked vegetables, or decorative pumpkins - and
knowledge about how they've been grown. In return,
farmers and ranchers learn what their customers like,
then fill those needs with products, often at a premium.

This bulletin from the Sustainable Agriculture Network
describes successful direct marketers, most of whom
researched their new enterprises with funding from the
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)
program. It includes tips about how to start or improve a
number of alternative agricultural marketing channels

and provides links to extra, more in-depth information.
(Resources, p. 20.)

Direct marketing strategies are numerous and varied.
Before beginning to sell direct, identify markets with
special needs that offer large enough volumes to provide
profitable returns. Also consider researching and writing
a business plan, which will help you evaluate alternatives,
identify new market opportunities, then communicate
them to potential business partners and commercial
lenders. (See p. 18 and Resources, p. 20.)

Organic foods have held steady as one of the fastest-
growing niche markets for several years. More recently,
demand for pasture-raised meat and dairy products has
risen considerably, with a small but significant subset
interested in ethnic specialty meats, such as Halal and
kosher-slaughtered products. Buying trends also support
a rising interest in food grown and produced locally
or regionally, so savvy farmers and ranchers are distin-
guishing their products by location and quality. Finally,
e-commerce has become an established mechanism
for sales of all kinds.

Consider selling at farmers markets, opening a CSA
operation, developing value-added products, offering
on-farm activities like educational tours, selling via the
Internet, or marketing to restaurants and schools. You
can go it alone, or you can team up with others in a
cooperative. Most farmers use a combination of marketing
methods - both value-based strategies bringing higher
returns and volume-based channels selling more products
- finding that diverse marketing strategies provide stable
profits and a better quality of life.

Farmers Markets

SINCE 1994, THE NUMBER OF U.S. FARMERS MARKETS HAS MORE
than doubled to about 4,000, reflecting an enormous
demand for farm-fresh produce.

Most farmers markets offer a reliable, flexible outlet
where vendors can sell a wide range of fresh produce,
plants, honey, value-added products like jams or breads
and even (depending on local health regulations) meats,
eggs and cheeses. For beginning direct marketers,
farmers markets can be a great place to start. To locate
farmers markets in your area, go to www.ams.usda.gov/
farmersmarkets/ or call USDA's Agricultural Marketing
Service at (202) 720-8042.

Aaron and Kimberly Bolster have been marketing
their fruits and vegetables in Oregon's Willamette Valley
since 1998, gradually expanding Deep Roots Farm
from three to more than 100 acres. Their diversified
approach to marketing includes a community supported

agriculture program, sales to restaurants, local super-
market chains, and even cannery crops. Yet, farmers
markets have consistently been among their best outlets.

In 2006, Deep Roots' employees were selling at 12
farmers markets a week during the height of the season.
Several are in Portland, a city known for its vibrant and
bustling markets that offer everything from heirloom
vegetables to bouquets of freshly cut flowers, dry beans,
specialty breads, fruit, nuts, beef, lamb and even rabbit.

Asked what makes for a successful farmers market
stand, Aaron Bolster emphasizes "the old cliche that you
have to have a quality product at a good price. People
need to have a reason to come back." Customers develop
loyalty to particular farms based on price, quality, the
range of offerings, their desire to support local farmers,
and the personal connection they feel with you and
your farm.

Farmers markets vary widely in size, setting and sales
volume. If you're not satisfied with farmers market options
in your area, you may be able to improve them by forging
alliances with other members of your community.
Merchants' associations, chambers of commerce and
other civic groups have come to recognize the power
of farmers markets to draw customers into retail areas.

Betty King, a University of Kentucky extension
specialist for community development, calls farmers
markets "America's first grocery stores." King was part
of a group eager to emulate the success they saw in
the city of Lexington, which enjoys a thriving farmers
market with as many as 60 vendors. In neighboring
Woodford County, King and other community leaders
were eager to encourage a new market in the town
of Versailles.

When Versailles' downtown underwent renovation,
developers offered to create a covered space where
the market could operate year-round. The Woodford
County Extension Service built a certified community
processing kitchen, and a SARE grant helped fund a
training program for farmers interested in developing
value-added products to diversify their market offerings.
Downtown merchants show their support for the market
by purchasing bedding plants and other items from the
farmers for seasonal decorations.

The Woodford County Farmers Market now has 10
to 12 vendors selling produce, honey, meat, cheese and
freshwater shrimp. "You have to start small and grow the
market," King says. "Farmers should realize that they
have to invest, too." For example, paying higher stall
fees to pay for advertising or a salaried market manager
can pay dividends later.

A similar partnership in Santa Rosa County, Fla.,
spearheaded by a SARE community innovation grant,
led to the establishment of Riverwalk Farmers Market
in downtown Milton and the creation of a "Santa
Rosa Fresh" marketing program to highlight produce
grown within the county. Cooking demonstrations
with themes like "Cook it Like Your Grandma Did"
and "It's Too Darn Hot to Cook" drew record crowds.
Other special events featured antique car shows and
swing dancing demonstrations.

The county hopes to erect a permanent covered
structure for the market on the courthouse square.
Another plan is to let high school students earn
community service hours to gain eligibility for state
college scholarships by working at the market. "It really
fits with our mission for the farmers market to have an
educational component," says Chris Wilcox of the Santa
Rosa Economic Development Council.

Most growers enjoy interacting with other farmers, and
many say that cooperation is as important as competition.
Expect to have slow days when you do not sell all that
you bring, and be prepared to encounter bargain hunters.
You may want to investigate gleaning possibilities; many
food banks and homeless shelters will pick up extras
directly from your stand or farm.

If you're interested in selling at farmers markets, keep
in mind:
^ Successful markets are located in busy, central

places and are well-publicized.

Betty King, a Kentucky
extension specialist,
calls farmers markets
"America's first grocery
stores/' She opened
a new market in
Versailles, Ky., and
provided training for
farmers interested
in diversifying their
offerings.
- Photo by Ted Coonfield

Full Belly Farm in
northern California has
cultivated a loyal base
of members for its
community operation,
which provides 80
different types of
vegetables and even
wool. Paul Muller is one
of four farm partners.
- Photo by Neil Michel/Axiom

n ^ Don't deliberately or drastically undersell your fellow

farmers. The more farmers and farm products at the

market, the more customers.
*"*- A good market manager promotes the market and

enforces its rules.
r *- Selling at a farmers market may provide contacts

for other channels, such as special orders or

subscriptions.
^* Get feedback from your customers. You can learn

a lot about what they find desirable - and what to

grow next season.
^ For tips on displaying produce, pricing and other

practical advice, consult The New Farmers Market.

(Resources, p. 20)

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

CSA, A MARKETING METHOD IN WHICH MEMBERS OF A
community invest in a local farm operation by paying
up-front for a share of the harvest, has been growing
steadily since it first appeared in the U.S. in the late 1980s.
The community idea carries over into the farm itself,
with members dividing the weekly harvest as well as the
risk of crop failure. Moreover, most CSA farms invite
members to learn more about their operations through
farm visits, volunteer opportunities and potluck suppers.

No two CSA farms are alike. Most supply produce.
They also might provide flowers, berries, nuts, eggs,
meat, grain or honey. Farmers may ask members to
come to the farm to pick up their shares, or they might

deliver them to centrally located distribution sites. Families
run some CSA farms, while others involve groups of pro-
ducers to supply additional goods. Many CSA farms ask
members to commit time and labor to the operation,
which not only lowers costs, but also allows members to
learn more about what it really means to grow food.

In and around Concord, N.H., eight organic vegetable
growers decided to try a cooperative CSA. With a SARE
grant, the group worked through the logistics, from the
creation of a legal entity called Local Harvest CSA to
weekly food production and delivery. Being part of the
cooperative makes it possible for the growers to combine
what they produce best or substitute for others' crop
losses. Co-op members also learn from each other, sharing
information about production issues like seed varieties
and fencing options. Since forming in 2003, the group
has slowly expanded its roster of farmer-members and
doubled its number of shareholders to more than 200.

Another model comes from northern California's
Full Belly Farm. Run by a team of four farm partners,
Full Belly hosts a year-round, 800-member CSA with
drop-off sites throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
Full Belly Farm employs 40 workers and grows nearly
80 different types of vegetables, herbs, fruits and nuts as
well as flowers, eggs and wool. They also sell at farmers
markets and to restaurants.

"I wanted to create a different model than what I grew
up with," says Paul Muller, who was raised near San Jose
in a family of dairy farmers and now is one of the Full

Belly Farm partners. "On our farm, we have great rela-
tionships with our end users - they are the ones we
grow for, and they have confidence in our integrity"
about how Full Belly Farm produces their food. "They
have no question about feeding it to their kids."

Full Belly Farm has been organic since the 1980s,
and hosts an award-winning annual "Hoes Down" festival
including kids' activities, farm tours, food and music.
Muller received SARE's Patrick Madden Sustainable
Farmer Award in 2006.

Many CSA farmers produce weekly or biweekly
newsletters describing the harvest and providing
recipes. Others reach out electronically through listservs
or Websites. Full Belly Farm's Website describes their
CSA program in detail - including drop-off locations,
prices and payment schedules, a harvest calendar
and a newsletter specifying the contents of the
weekly CSA box, among other things.

When evaluating CSA as an option for your farm,
consider:
^ Your location. Can you find enough members?

Can they drive to your farm; or do you need to

establish community drop-off sites?
^ Labor. Do you have enough paid support or

volunteers to handle the extra jobs involved

in CSA, such as packaging?
n ^ Your willingness to sponsor events on the farm,

publish a newsletter and provide other services

that help customers feel connected to the farm.

On-Farm Sales & Agritourism

On-Farm Sales

JUST LIKE PEOPLE ENJOY WATCHING MILK BOTTLING THROUGH
the Burkharts' observation window (see p. 1), they seek
opportunities to shop at farm stands and interact with
farmers right where they live. In response, farmers are
becoming more attuned to ways they might maximize
their offerings. Some pick-your-own operations, for
example, have expanded into wedding facilities, farm
camps and gourmet specialty stores.

Earnie and Martha Bohner, who started with a pick-
your-own operation with no buildings, electricity or run-
ning water in 1983, created a Missouri Ozarks destination
that now attracts carload after carload of customers,
especially in June, July and August, when nearby summer
camps are in session.

They began with a long-term plan for Persimmon Hill
Berry Farm based on family goals and values. Within 10
years of purchasing 80 acres, they were cultivating 3 acres

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of blueberries, 1 acre of blackberries, 2,000 hardwood logs
for shiitake mushrooms and 120 apple trees. In addition
to the products, they provide amenities: clean restrooms,
a picnic table and shade trees - and tidy field edges.

"We create a place where people can enjoy them-
selves," Earnie Bohner says. "People don't come all the
way out here to get cheap food. They come because
it's fun and the berries are absolutely fresh. As much
as we can, we give them contact with 'the farmers.'
The more we can do that, the more people go away
with that memory."

An Indiana grower's use of integrated pest manage-
ment and shrewd marketing attracted a bevy of new
customers to his crop farm. In 1992, Brian Churchill
began using integrated pest management on some of
Countryside Farm's 100 acres of sweet corn, melons,
tomatoes and other produce. In 1994, with a SARE
producer grant, Churchill began scouting for pests, with-
holding routine spraying and building better habitat for
beneficial insects. He cut insecticide costs drastically,
then decided to use that as a marketing hook.

First, Churchill attracted the attention of local chefs
with an "expo" (see p. 13). He also opened a thriving
roadside stand, where the corn is the big seller.

"We drive the point home about using less chemicals
all the time," he said. "I have been growing sweet corn
now for 16 years and the customers keep coming back
and bringing friends with them. It's been great."

Once he perfected his system, he expanded into
watermelons, pumpkins and squash and began inviting
school children to visit to learn more about farming,
judicious agri-chemical use and pollination. In 2005,
1,500 students visited the farm. "Our farm has grown a
lot since the grant," he says.

Marlene Groves and
husband, David, provide
tours of their 2,000-acre
Kiowa, Colo., buffalo
ranch to promote a
better understanding
of agriculture, ecology
and nutrition.
- Photo courtesy Buffalo Groves

The Walters' 100
varieties of pumpkins
and squash attract
15,000 visitors every
fall. The new enterprise
has brought their
daughter's family back
to the Burns, Kan., farm.
- Photo by William Rebstock

In the Pacific Northwest, Larry Thompson grows 43
fruit and vegetable crops on 140 acres in Boring, Ore.
Once he decided to convert his parents' farm from
wholesale produce and flung open the farm gate to the
suburban Portland community, his neighbors began
coming and haven't stopped.

Many call Thompson a pro at "relationship" marketing,
forming bonds with customers who see a value in local
produce raised with few chemicals. Each year, thousands
of students - as well as other farmers and researchers -
visit his farm to learn about his holistic pest manage-
ment strategies and view his bounty of colorful crops.

Agritourism

POTENTIAL AGRITOURISM ENTERPRISES ABOUND. FIGURE OUT
what's unique about your farm and your skills, and use
those things to create an enjoyable, educational experi-
ence that will appeal to your customers. The key to
agritourism is authenticity and creativity.

Becky Walters planted her first acre of pumpkins on
her central Kansas farm in 1988 after her boss at a local
greenhouse gave her seed for a new miniature pumpkin
that was popular at nurseries and farm markets.

"My husband caught a big razzing at the co-op," she
recalls, "but I made $583 selling them, twice what we
would have made on the 5 acres of milo we usually
had in that field."

Like most of their neighbors, Becky and her hus-
band, Carroll, had been growing milo and soybeans
and grazing cattle for the commodity market. With
grain and beef prices hovering at or below the cost of
production, the couple was eager to find a way to

breathe new profits into the 1,700-acre farm where
Carroll had grown up.

Bit by bit, the Walters expanded that original acre of
pumpkins to 16 acres. They built a processing kitchen
so they could create value-added products. Then they
added a gift shop, a swinging bridge over their creek to
appeal to kids, a corn maze and educational tours to
draw customers to their farm, ideally located for a
tourism venture just minutes off the Kansas Turnpike.

Today, the Walters grow more than 100 varieties of
pumpkins, gourds and winter squash - from minis to
giants - along with tomatoes, peppers and onions.
Planting many squash varieties also helps the Walters
spread risk, since different types thrive in different
weather conditions. Drawn by the variety and convenient
location, as many as 15,000 visitors flock to Walters'
Pumpkin Patch in the six weeks leading up to Halloween.

"People come just to see all the different kinds that
we have," says Becky Walters, who received a SARE
farmer/rancher grant to experiment with ways to add
value to pumpkins by making salsa. The product,
after experimentation with the recipe and the right
jar for packing, dovetails with their tourism efforts,
complements their other vegetables and provides new
jobs in their community.

The enterprise has been so successful that her
daughter and son-in-law have moved back to the farm
to help out. With their two young grandsons beginning
to get involved in the business, Becky says, "it feels like
a real family farm again."

To expand their educational efforts for school groups,
the Walters will teach visitors about native frogs and fish
in their farm pond and incorporate information about
the Walnut River, which surrounds them on three sides.

"I think having an idea of doing something and jump-
ing off the cliff to do it is the hardest part," Walters says.
"Sometimes it takes what I call 'thinking outside the barn.'
When you put a pencil to it, it just doesn't make sense
for us to grow the conventional crops any more."

The Walters and others who offer educational programs
for school groups recognize that teaching children usually
requires special skills and always a good set of ideas.
To engage children, consider getting them involved in
projects - whether it's digging potatoes, planting corn,
or decorating pumpkins. Keeping groups small helps.
Of course, ensuring safety is paramount, especially on
farms with heavy equipment and other hazards. If you
don't have the resources to develop educational programs
on your own, consider working with local schoolteachers,
FFA groups, or others in the community.

Marlene Groves of Buffalo Groves, Inc., in Kiowa,
Colo., developed youth education programs - including
an "American Buffalo" Girl Scout patch program and an
educational youth buffalo project for 4-H - to teach about
buffalo history. The ranch's "Bison Reader," a youth activity
sheet, is a favorite at many schools and nature centers.
Efforts like these, Groves says, foster a better understand-
ing of ecology, agriculture and nutrition. Mainly, she wants
kids to know where their food comes from.

The Groves teach people, young and old, about their
ranch and their niche product during ranch tours. They
charge $25 per person, refundable in the form of store
credit, and also offer customized tours for private events.

"It takes work to run tours" on a 2,000-acre ranch,
Groves acknowledges, "but we want to showcase what
we're doing." They lead visitors on walks, talk about
grazing management and point out native grasses and
wildflowers. "Of course, the highlight is going out to
see the buffalo herd," she says.

Offering tours is a way of taking advantage of
consumers' and the media's interest in farm life, Groves
says. As part of that, "tell a good story - tell your own
story," she advises. In addition to selling meat on the
ranch, they also market and deliver directly to customers
in Denver and Colorado Springs and from their Website.

Other ranchers have expanded into diverse on-site
activities, offering hunting, fishing, bird-watching, horse-
back riding or hiking. In Colorado, co-owners of the
87,000-acre Chico Basin Ranch began offering working
ranch vacation packages in 2000. While it's taking time
to make that side of the business fully profitable, they
feel they're moving in the right direction, says ranch
manager Duke Phillips.

While some people visit just for birding, which brings
lower returns, "we have packages where people stay for
a week and we get paid well for that," says Phillips.
"We have to balance what we do with our values, the
reason we're here as ranchers."

Chico Basin was among a group of ranches in Col-
orado, Wyoming and other western states that benefited
from a SARE grant exploring various types of community-
based direct marketing models for ranch owners seek-
ing to diversify. The key is to put a value on the natural
resource amenities provided by ranchlands and to find
ways for urban- and suburban-based consumers to enjoy
those amenities.

Community-Based Farm Tourism

FARMERS CONSIDERING WAYS TO PUT THEMSELVES ON THE MAP,
literally, might team up with state or regional agencies

to promote rural economic development through farm-
based tourism activities. In many parts of the United
States - not just traditional vacation destinations like
Hawaii or New England - tourism can make a significant
contribution to local economies, and attractive, well-
managed farm operations can do a lot to draw rural
tourists. Explore local government, quasi-government
and business connections to participate in local festivals,
get listed in state tourism brochures or be featured in
regional public outreach campaigns.

In Minnesota, the nonprofit Renewing the Countryside
organization used a SARE grant to promote local foods-
based tourism. Working with groups like the Minnesota
Bed & Breakfast Association and the University of Min-
nesota Tourism Center, RTC developed a promotional
campaign called Green Routes. Printed maps and an
online directory (www.greenroutes.org) guide visitors
to farmstands, craft shops and other rural destinations.
"There's a lot of interest in and support for 'green'
travel, and farmers are a big piece of that," says RTC's
Jan Joannides.

Similar efforts are underway in Rhode Island, where
the Rhode Island Center for Agricultural Promotion
and Education launched "Rhode Island FarmWays,"
a campaign to highlight farms as tourist destinations.
The goal, says Center Executive Director Stuart Nunnery,
is "to help showcase Rhode Island's farms as places of
significant beauty, culture, ecology and history. Those
farms are crucial to maintaining Rhode Island's quality
of life."

With help from a 2004 SARE grant, Nunnery and
colleagues have held professional development work-
shops for farmers, provided grants to help producers
initiate farm-based tourism activities and created a

Hidden Meadows Farm
in West Greenwich, R.I.,
a member of the state
FarmWays agritourism
campaign, hosted the
public during a Thanksgiving
weekend of on-farm
activities. The farm sells
Christmas trees and value-
added products.

- Photo by Jo-Anne Pacheco

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Nutritional tests on
meat from Buffalo
Groves in Colorado
found the cuts were
significantly lower in
calories and cholesterol
than grain-fed bison
meat, providing a
marketing angle for
David and Marlene
Groves.
- Photo courtesy of Buffalo Groves

Website listing farm-based attractions statewide. The
Rhode Island Center also negotiated a $250,000 loan
package with the state Economic Development Corp.
to provide small loans to farmers to develop or expand
agritourism and direct marketing activities. Finally,
the team is focusing on streamlining the regulatory
process by which farmers can set up farm stay or bed
& breakfast operations.

"Our farms have a variety of untapped assets that
can create products and experiences for visitors,"
says Nunnery. "They could be walking trails, historical
features, wildlife, heritage livestock, horticultural diver-
sity or just a spectacular landscape. We have farms
with beautiful grasslands preserved by conservation
easements. One of the farms we're working with has
ancient settlements and artifacts being excavated by
university archaeologists."

If you're interested in on-farm sales and agritourism,
consider the following.

^ Check your local extension office for information
about how to construct sales stands, small market
buildings and produce displays. From building
materials to permits, establishing a stand can
prove expensive.
^ Social skills and a scenic, clean, attractive farm
are crucial for success in agritourism and can
overcome a location that is less than ideal.
^ Farm visitors may interfere with main farm
activities and pose a liability risk. Consult your
insurance adviser to ensure adequate liability
coverage.
r ^ In the tourist business, you are never really off-duty.

Expect late-night calls and working holidays.
^ State departments of agriculture often offer
assistance in setting up farm festivals and similar
activities. State tourism bureaus also can offer
a wealth of ideas and information.

Direct Marketing Meat and Animal Products

AFTER YEARS OF WATCHING FEED PRICES RISE AND PORK
prices fall and wondering how they could stay prof-
itable, Denise and Bill Brownlee of Wil-Den Family
Farms in Pennsylvania decided in 2002 to exploit
what they saw as a market advantage - their outdoor
production system where hogs farrow and finish on
pasture without growth stimulants and with minimal
antibiotic use.

Given the time commitment involved in direct
marketing, the Brownlees started by scaling back
from 170 sows to 60, aiming to sell 900 to 1,000

animals a year at a premium price. Over the past
several years they've explored a variety of direct market-
ing strategies. A SARE grant enabled them to partner
with a local nonprofit group to test a subscription
service for meat, in which up to 100 members would
purchase annual shares of pork chops, sausages,
bacon and ham.

What they found was that customers were more
comfortable with monthly meat subscriptions than
with annual meat shares. "We tried to pattern it after
how people are used to buying from vegetable farmers:
paying upfront," Denise Brownlee says. "For whatever
reason, they were hesitant to commit." Their experience
shows that translating marketing strategies from one type
of product to another can require some tweaking.

Decades ago, most meat and animal products were
sold directly to customers, but all that changed with
the advent of the modern feedlot-to-wholesale system.
Recently, consumer concerns about nutritional health,
food safety and animal welfare have spurred renewed
interest in buying animal products directly from the
source. Producers, meanwhile, see the value of
re-connecting to consumers.

Making the most of your direct marketing efforts
requires being able to explain to customers why your
product is better than what they can find in their local
supermarket. To make specific nutritional claims for

your product, consider getting samples tested by an
independent lab. With a SARE producer grant, David
and Marlene Groves tested their 100-percent grass-fed
bison meat, which they sell directly from their Colorado
ranch. They learned that the meat was slightly lower in
fat and significantly lower in calories and cholesterol
than the standard published values for bison meat.

"It's very hard to confidently market your product
if you don't completely understand it," Groves says.
"Most buffalo for sale in the supermarket is grain-fed,
and it's much fattier." Once customers understand the
difference, they often are more inclined to buy Buffalo
Groves meat.

Another expanding market opportunity for sustain-
able livestock producers centers on health. Health care
practitioners and individuals seeking to improve their
diets in response to concerns about chronic disease,
pain syndromes and various disorders are fueling
demand for better quality meat. The University of North
Carolina Program on Integrative Medicine used a SARE
grant to compile a directory of locally raised, grass-fed
livestock products after receiving repeated requests for
such information from holistic health care providers in
the area. Part of their research included sources of meat
with desired levels of omega-3 fatty acids.

For livestock producers facing an increasingly con-
centrated market with a few large processors controlling
prices, direct marketing offers the opportunity to retain
a greater share of product value. Marketing meat and
animal products, however, means making food safety
issues paramount. (See box at right.)

Provide cooking instructions, especially for grass-
fed meats, which require lower cooking temperatures
than conventionally produced meat - "low and slow,"
as Texas rancher Peggy Sechrist likes to describe it.
If possible, provide samples. With a quality product,
sampling can be the most effective form of marketing.

Jim Goodman of Wonewoc, Wis., began direct-market-
ing organic beef not only to increase profits, but also to
talk with and educate his customers about sustainable
beef production. After 16 years of selling to packing
companies, Goodman now delivers beef to restaurants,
a farmers market and directly to friends and neighbors.
Customers are getting used to ordering by e-mail in the
winter, so direct marketing continues during the winter
through scheduled deliveries.

"Traditionally, farmers never see their customers," says
Goodman, who regularly drives 75 miles to Madison to
deliver beef. "It's nice to be able to hand your customers
a package of burgers with tips on how to cook it and be

able to tell them how the animals are raised."

When he takes a 1,500-pound steer to the packing
plant, he receives about $1,000. That same animal brings
$2,500 minus about $450 in processing costs, when he
sells it directly.

"People are willing to pay more for direct-marketed
organic beef," he says. "Once you get regular customers,
you develop a friendship with them. Then people start
talking about buying meat from 'my farmer.' It really is
the way marketing should be done, the farmer delivers a
quality product, and the consumer is happy to pay them
a fair price, everyone wins."

Cooperatives provide another route for direct market-
ing meat. In 2001, a group of Iowa livestock producers
launched Wholesome Harvest, a cooperative featuring
organic meat sales in five Midwest states. Co-op founder
Wende Elliott, who raises lamb and poultry, got a grant
from SARE to research the potential - since realized
with steady sales. "Only by working together can farmers
protect the added value of organic meat and capture
premium prices," Elliott says. (See p. 15 for more infor-
mation on co-ops.)

Recently, consumer
concerns about
nutritional health,
food safety and
animal welfare
have spurred
renewed interest
in buying animal
products directly
from the source.

ANIMAL PRODUCT LABELING & CLAIMS

Meat producers address consumer safety concerns through regulatory avenues as well as
processing and inspection. Before launching a direct meat-selling venture, decide where
and how you want to market. The type of processing and inspection you choose limits
where the meat can be sold, dictating whether you can sell across state lines and
whether direct to consumers or wholesale.

For more information about meat inspection and overall marketing regulations,
see the Legal Guide for Direct Farm Marketing, developed in part with a SARE
grant. To learn more about direct-marketing beef, from slaughtering to promoting
and advertising, consult How to Direct Market Your Beef, published by SARE's
Sustainable Agriculture Network. (Resources, p. 20.)

You may want to develop labels describing how you produce your meat, specifying
your feeding, medication and other practices and/or where you farm or ranch. Check
with USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) at www.fsis.usda.gov, (202) 205-0623
and the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service's Livestock and Seed Program,
www.ams.usda.gov/lsg, to create accurate, legal claims.

For organic labels, see USDA's National Organic Program Website - www.ams.usda.gov/nop
- or call (202) 690-0725 with questions. For regulations and information related to food
safety in livestock products other than meat and eggs, such as milk pasteurization, visit
the Food & Drug Agency's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition at
www.cfsan.fda.gov.

To better address the needs of the small business community, including farmers and
ranchers, FDA assigned its small business representatives (SBRs) to respond to questions
such as how to find the FDA regulation(s) pertinent to your product. To find the SBR
nearest you, visit www.fda.gov/ora/fed_state/Small_Business/sb_guide/smbusrep.html.

PROMOTING MEAT TO ETHNIC MARKETS

To expand sales of their lamb and goat
meat, Larry Jacoby and Judy Moses built
new connections with the growing
populations of Mexican and Somali
immigrants in western Wisconsin.
Their efforts - advertising in multiple
languages, promoting visits to their
140-acre farm in Downing, Wis., and
attending customer weddings, among
them - have resulted in a substantial
increase in annual sales.

"We like working with a variety of
people, it fits our interests intellectually,"
said Judy Moses, who, with husband
Jacoby, received a SARE farmer/rancher
grant to explore new ways to promote
to culturally diverse customers. "Once
you get into their network, you're in.
When we have goats for sale, the word
spreads quickly and customers come."

Now, they sell almost all of their
goats and about 40 percent of their lambs
to ethnic customers at premium prices.
In busy periods during the Muslim
month of Ramadan, Christmas and New
Year's holidays, monthly sales of adult
goats, kids, and 80-pound lambs surge.

In 2005, they sold more than
500 live goats and lambs during
the holidays at an average of
$100 each.

Moses and Jacoby learned a lot
over the two years of their grant
project about how to reach new
customers, many of whom speak
limited English, come to the farm
at all hours, and want to slaughter
their animals according to religious
customs.

Moses' co-worker at her off-
farm job, a Somali native, sparked
the project by suggesting that
local Somalis, many of whom work
at a Barron, Wis., turkey processing
plant, craved fresh goat meat. While
Moses and Jacoby tried ads in ethnic
magazines, established a multi-lingual
Website and posted information on
bulletin boards and tourist information
centers, word-of-mouth brought the
most customers.

A friend who worked at the process-
ing plant encouraged some of her Somali
co-workers to visit Moses' and Jacoby's

Shepherd Song Farm, where they raise
about 400 goats and 300 lambs annually
on pasture.

In keeping with tradition, the Somalis
wanted Halal slaughtering practices
involving a Muslim imam. Moses found
a state-inspected processor 14 miles
away willing to slaughter goats in the
preferred manner with the local imam
present to supervise. Moses and Jacoby
adapted in other ways, too, growing
accustomed to unannounced visits from
families, some of whom liked to pick up

animals in the midst of the winter
holidays. Many of those visitors
bought 10 to 20 goats at one time.
They even bartered occasionally,
with Jacoby swapping lamb for a new
pair of leather boots imported from
Mexico, among other items. Customer
relations soared.

"Mexican and Somali families have
sought us out," Moses said. "These
families purchase something more than
food - a memory of their heritage
while strengthening family bonds."

Season Extension

WHETHER YOU'RE SELLING AT FARMERS MARKETS, THROUGH
a CSA or on your farm, lengthening your marketing
season can be critical to spreading your workload and
evening out your cash flow. It can also help maintain
relationships with customers and allow you to offer
year-round employment to key employees. While some
farmers enjoy having off-season "down time" to make
repairs or plan for the coming year, others find that
practicing seasonal diversification makes for a more
well-rounded farm enterprise.

Season extension involves using greenhouses,
unheated hoop houses, row covers or alternate varieties
to push fruit and vegetable crops earlier into the spring
or later into the fall.

In Oregon, farmers Aaron Bolster of Deep Roots Farm
and Anthony and Carol Boutard of Ayers Creek Farm
teamed up with the Oregon Farmers' Market Association
on a SARE-funded project to test the idea of extending
a popular Portland farmers market through the winter

months. Customers got acquainted with the wide array of
local products available year-round, while farmers gauged
off-season demand. Deep Roots used hoop houses to
grow late-season greens and other cold-hardy crops; other
farmers, like the Boutards, offered value-added products
based on their summer berries and other specialties.

"This is an area where there used to be a lot more
emphasis on winter production, but with more shipping
and competition from the South, it kind of fell away," Bol-
ster says. "Now, with the demand for local produce, there's
a real opportunity for farmers who are willing to take it."

A key goal for Bolster and the Boutards was to keep
people employed year-round to foster good workers.
They also found the winter market was a catalyst for them
to grow more vegetables year-round, then try shopping
any extra product to local stores and restaurants. "In
winter there's certainly more risk, but it's worth it,"
Bolster says.

Sometimes, the key to capturing a valuable market is
timing. Having the earliest local sweet corn or tomatoes

at the farmers market will command a price premium;
the trick is to keep customers coming to your stand
through tomato season and beyond. Thinking creatively
about how to maximize the overlap between peak
demand and peak production is an important part of
direct marketing. Becky Walters of Burns, Kan., devel-
oped her distinctive pumpkin salsa after selecting an
early-maturing pumpkin variety to coincide with tomato
and pepper season.

Another part of season extension has to do with under-
standing the seasonal preferences of your target market.
Meat producers often find that customers buy ground
beef in the summer and roasts in the winter, for example.
In Colorado, the Groves have learned that they have to
ship on Thursdays because many people like to receive
their meat on Friday for special weekend meals. Moreover,
the Groves say that bison sales are strong around the win-
ter holidays and into January, apparently because people
resolve to eat healthier meats around the first of year.
Finally, raising heritage turkeys for the Thanksgiving mar-
ket has proven a yearly boon for many poultry producers.

Value-Added Products

IN 1986, EARNIE AND MARTHA BOHNER BEGAN MAKING JAM IN
rented facilities near their farm in southern Missouri.
Since then, Persimmon Hill Berry Farm has built a pro-
cessing kitchen to make value-added products, from jams
to sauces. To create specialty items that would appeal to
customers, the Bohners did their homework. First, they
worked with a chef to perfect recipes for jams and barbe-
cue sauce. Later, with a SARE grant, they sought ways to

add value to shiitake mushrooms. After market research,
including detailed cost comparisons, showed that freeze-
drying on site would be prohibitively expensive, the
Bohners decided to dry their fresh shiitakes off-site, then
convert the high-value product into a top-shelf shiitake
soup mix.

"The development of new products is something we
work at all of the time," says Earnie Bohner. "New farm
products and enterprises help keep us interesting to
our return guests and give our first-time guests more
motivation to come and see us." Today, their sales of
value-added products accounts for 50 percent of the
farm's gross income.

Processing fruits and shiitake mushrooms allows
the Bohners to use "seconds," extend their marketing
season and diversify their marketing outlets.

Dan and Jeanne Carver diversified their central
Oregon ranch by developing a variety of value-added
products from their sheep flock. With a SARE farmer/
rancher grant, Jeanne Carver tested the market, then
targeted lamb and wool sales toward high-end consumers
and commercial buyers. Now, they sell Imperial Stock
Ranch lamb to upscale restaurants in Bend, Ore., wool
in yarn-and-pattern kits for hand knitters, and ready-to-
wear woolen and lambskin fashions.

"Our customers love the quality of our product, the
flavor profile of the meat, the feel of the wool, and the
message of the land and sense of place," Carver says.

Direct-marketing their lamb led to selling some of
their main product - beef - directly as well. "The market-
ing project has increased awareness and visibility of

Greenhouses and high

tunnels - unheated,

pipe-framed structures -

offer options for producing

before and after the

traditional season. Easy-

to-construct tunnels have

been especially popular

for off-season fruits and

vegetables that fetch

premium prices.

- Tunnel photo by Mark Davis;
greenhouse photo by MB Miller.

left to right

To add value to local fare,
the Northeast Organic
Farming Association of
Vermont developed pizza
on-the-go featuring a
portable oven and diverse
products, from wheat to
vegetables to meat. Lisa
Harris of NOFA-VT
demonstrates.
- Photo by Lindsey Ketchel

Sheep rancher Jeanne

Carver developed a line

of woolen garments such

as fleece vests featuring

their Oregon-raised wool,

adding value to a

typically low-priced

commodity.

- Photo courtesy Imperial
Stock Ranch

what we grow, how we grow it and, most importantly,
how we manage the land," says Dan Carver. "Once the
chefs [buying Imperial Stock Ranch lamb] tour the
ranch and see the roots of their product, they ask "How
do we get your beef?' The demand is there," he notes,
"but it will grow only as fast as our processing and
distribution will allow."

In the Northeast, where festivals proliferate, the
Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont
(NOFA-VT) used a SARE grant to research a variety of
prepared foods for sale at fairs, festivals and farmers
markets. Their goal was to develop a healthy value-
added product that featured diverse local ingredients
purchased directly from farmers and appealed to
festival-goers. The answer turned out to be pizza.

To make it work, NOFA-VT needed a portable oven.
They contracted with a Maine company that specializes
in wood heating to build them a wood-fired French
clay, copper-clad oven, with help from a USDA Rural
Business Enterprise Grant. They then set it on a trailer
so it could be pulled from event to event by truck.
In 2006, "Vermont Farmers' Fare" began selling 12-inch
pizzas made from Vermont-grown wheat, vegetables,
cheese and meat.

The pizzas "are a big hit!" says Enid Wonnacott,
NOFA-VT's executive director. "No one can believe the
crust is made, partially, from local wheat. One of our
goals was to get local food on the radar screen of
people who may not even think about the farms in their
community and what is available from those farms."

Wonnacott and others planned the portable pizza
project to offer farmers a direct market benefit, and
also to encourage them to sell their own value-added

products. The oven also cooks bread, pies and even
roasted vegetables.

Value-added opportunities are everywhere. Examine
your product and brainstorm about how processing
might increase its value. Fruit growers can dry their
product or make wines, juices, vinegars, spreads, sauces,
syrups and preserves. Grain growers might create cereals
and baking mixes. Dairy operators can bottle milk or
make cheese, while livestock producers might sell
dried meat or specialty cuts.

When you add variety to your product line, you
increase the choices presented to your customers and
your chances for expanding your sales volume.

Some things to keep in mind when contemplating
value-added products:
r ^ Consider projected costs and returns carefully

before investing in specialized equipment for

value-added products. Often it makes sense

to work with a co-processor to test your market.
^ Some of the best value-added items make use

of by-products or seconds.
" Seek the experts. Consult with your state Extension

Service, Department of Agriculture or small business

groups about packaging, processing and recipe

development.

Sales to Restaurants & Institutions

RESTAURANTS, ESPECIALLY HIGH-END RESTAURANTS, PROVIDE
lucrative markets. Chefs and restaurant patrons pay
premium prices for top-quality, distinctive, locally grown
products - if they are available in quantities that warrant
inclusion on the menu. Some states and regions have
created marketing programs to encourage restaurants
to feature local farm products, and an increasing num-
ber of restaurants identify farms in their menu item
descriptions and in other promotions.

The challenge often lies in getting farmer-chef
relationships established. In some areas, organized
sampling events have brought farmers and chefs
together to talk about seasonal availability, preferred
crops and varieties, volume, post-harvest handling and
delivery logistics.

In the mid-90s, after receiving a SARE farmer grant,
Brian Churchill held an "expo" for 50 chefs from top
restaurants in nearby Louisville, Ky. "We showed we can
produce the volumes they need in as good or better
a quality as they can get anywhere," Churchill says.

The SARE grant started Churchill down a path he
continues to tread more than a decade later. He
expanded his "IPM sweet corn" to 60 acres and sells
that and other produce to two chefs, who pick up
their requests at the farm twice a month.

Another SARE-funded project in northwestern
Arkansas organized 1 1 "All-Ozark Meals" at restaurants,
delis, farmers markets and other locations in 2003.
Enthusiasm from the event translated to more local
purchasing by restaurants and groceries and a new
commitment from a regional environmental group
to support farmland preservation issues. Several chefs
who cooked for the All-Ozark Meals now participate
in a popular competition at the Fayetteville Farmers
Market, in which chefs have two hours to shop at the
market and then prepare a three-course meal using
all-local ingredients. Strong media response has
confirmed the value of farmers' stories when it
comes to selling food.

In Hawaii, a SARE-funded effort known as the "12
Trees" project is combining new crop development
with culinary expertise, organic growing techniques
and agritourism. Farmer and organizer Ken Love
solicited input from chefs to identify 12 tropical tree
fruits with commercial potential. Then, project leaders
and volunteers planted trees on a demonstration site
where farmers and researchers could learn about
production methods - and tourists and local residents
could come to see, taste and buy unusual fruits. Over
the course of the project, it evolved from a research
plot to a tourist destination.

"This came about solely because of community
involvement," Love says. "So instead of a university test
plot, we have an attractive public park complete with
educational displays on sustainable agriculture."

As the trees come into full production, the Kona
Pacific Farmers Cooperative will market the fruit to area
restaurants. Students at the West Hawaii Culinary Arts
program have been involved in developing recipes for

the fruits, which include loquat, pomegranate, mysore
berry, tropical apricot, figs and more.

"Everyone wins and benefits from this project," Love
says. "Researchers have a sustainable certified organic
field for tropical fruit production tests, and chefs and
student chefs are exposed to a wide variety of fruit that
they continue to purchase from local growers."

The 12 Trees site, located near the culinary school,
was designed for visitors. Self-guided tours with field signs
highlight information for growers and consumers. Two
natural amphitheaters provide space for local groups
to hold on-site workshops on such subjects as pruning and
grafting. It also draws visitors to the 101-year-old historic
Kona coffee co-op.

Other farmers report success from approaching
local chefs directly.

"It seems that every type of restaurant has its own
particular needs," writes Jan Holder in her book,

top to bottom

Rare Hawaiian striped
bananas are among the
local fruits with a "wow"
factor grown at the 12 Trees
demonstration site in Kona
and are a potentially hot
crop for area chefs.
- Photo by Ken Love

Upscale restaurants like
Restaurant Nora in
Washington, D.C., feature
ingredients procured from
local farmers as a hook
to draw customers.
— Photo by Edwin Remsberg

left to right

Philadelphia's nonprofit
Food Trust created
linkages between
Pennsylvania farmers
and city schools,
such as farm visits. A
kindergarten student
visits Solly Brothers
farm in Bucks County,
Pa., with his class.

Among the sales of
locally produced food
brokered by The Food
Trust: a special
morning snack for
kindergarteners.

- Photos by Bonnie Hallam

How to Direct Market Your Beef (RESOURCES, p. 20), adding
that locally owned restaurants are a much better bet
than franchises. "Restaurateurs usually want fresh, not
frozen beef. They also want a uniform product. The
last thing a restaurant manager wants is a customer
complaining that last time he ordered this steak it was
a lot bigger, or leaner, or more tender, or whatever."

Restaurants already working with seasonal, locally
produced foods might be most willing to work with you,
Holder says. Providing weekly availability lists can help
educate chefs and other food service personnel about
their options.

Prospective restaurant suppliers should consider:
r ^ Upscale restaurants and specialty stores pay top

dollar for quality produce and hard-to-get items.

According to Eric Gibson's Sell What You Sow!,

growers can expect a minimum of 10 percent over

wholesale terminal prices for standard items at

mainstream restaurants.
^ Most restaurants buy in limited quantities, and sales

may not justify the necessary frequent deliveries.

Growers should line up buyers a year in advance

and develop secondary outlets.
^ Call buyers for appointments and bring samples.
r ^ Meat producers can offer a variety of cuts, and

even bones for soup stock, but most restaurants

will want fresh products.
n ^ Major selling points include daily deliveries, special

varieties, freshness, personal attention and a

brochure describing your farm and products.
^ When planning your crop mix, talk with chefs and

specialty buyers, who are constantly looking for

something new. Successful restaurant sales depend

on meeting the changing needs of your buyers.

Other farmers and nonprofit organizers are exploring
the potential of direct farm sales to institutions like
schools, hospitals, and senior-care facilities. Philadel-
phia's nonprofit Food Trust received a SARE grant in
2003 to strengthen farmer access to markets in the
inner city. Working with farmer groups, extension
services and institutional buyers, the group brokered
marketing relationships, matching farmers with buyers,
bargaining for better prices and coordinating deliveries.

Among the project's successes was the creation of a
"Farm Fresh" fruits and vegetable option for people
participating in a "share food" program run by a state
nonprofit organization. That program offers discounted
monthly food packages with a labor commitment.
About one-quarter of participants now choose fresh
produce that was not previously available.

Sales from farms to Philadelphia schools is set to
top $200,000 in the first two years of the group's farm-
to-school project, according to Food Trust staffer Patrick
Gorman. A special kindergarten initiative is supplying
Pennsylvania farm produce for morning snacks at 1 1
schools, three days a week. The project has nutritional
and educational benefits for the children as well as
economic benefits for the farmers.

Selling to schools can be challenging - budgets are
limited, many decision-makers are involved, and many
schools no longer manage their own kitchens. But as
public concern over childhood obesity grows, new
opportunities for school food programs are opening
in many parts of the country. Privately run schools and
institutions often have more flexibility than public
schools.

™x

9 * _

Cooperative Marketing/Campaigns

SOME DIRECT MARKETERS GO IT ALONE, BUT MANY FIND THAT
teaming up with others shares skills and abilities,
moderates the workload and minimizes hassles.

After Terry and LaRhea Pepper's single buyer reneged
on a contract to buy their entire crop of organic cotton
near O'Donnell, Texas, they found themselves with bales
of raw cotton and no buyer. Scrambling for an alterna-
tive, the Peppers decided to try converting the raw prod-
uct into denim. LaRhea Pepper, who had majored in
fashion merchandising in college, contacted companies
interested in finished fabrics and secured a new buyer.

"We realized, then and there, that security and
profitability depended on our assuming responsibility
for processing and marketing our cotton," La Rhea Pepper
says. "We don't rely on anyone else."

The Peppers joined forces with other organic and
transitional cotton growers to form the Texas Organic
Cotton Marketing Cooperative. Through the co-op, they
shared marketing expenses and risks, then dealt with
buyers as a team.

"We were realistic," LaRhea Pepper says. "We realized
we couldn't deliver a consistent supply as the only
producer."

When the cooperative was formed in 1991, it brought
together 40 farm families who sought to market their
organic and transitional cotton. The cotton co-op sells
raw, baled cotton or an array of processed products
such as personal hygiene aids and a diversity of fabrics
through their Website.

As more members of the co-op were drawn into
marketing decisions, they also saw the need to create
new products, expand markets and promote themselves.
They diversified the product line to include chambray,
flannel, twill and knits. Lower grade, shorter staple cot-
ton, not suited to clothing, is used to make blankets and
throws. Most recently, an "Organic Essentials" division
was created to manufacture facial pads, cotton balls
and tampons. The co-op board continues to look for
other opportunities to add value to their cotton, and
for partners in the industry who are willing to share
the cost and risk.

The benefits of marketing agricultural products with
others also appealed to Janie Burns of Nampa, Idaho,
who raises sheep, chickens and assorted vegetables on
10 acres. A relatively small farmer, she is a large-scale
promoter of local food systems. With a SARE grant,
Burns investigated whether a growers' cooperative
would help area farmers become more efficient and
profitable, while offering their community access to

fresh, sustainably grown vegetables.

"We went to every list of people involved in direct
marketing," Burns recalls. They surveyed 150 people
within the Boise/Twin Falls area, which shares a
similar climate and crops, about their interest and
capabilities. Then, they identified markets, such as
restaurants, natural food stores, a cafeteria, a hospital
and a school.

The Boise-area farmers agreed to form their own
co-op under the name Idaho Organics Cooperative, Inc.
Now, the group has it down to a science. Every Sunday,
co-op growers send lists of what they will have for deliv-
ery that week, including quantity, description and price,
via fax, to their customers. Based on responses, the
farmers harvest, then pool produce at a central location
for boxing and delivery.

In Tennessee, in a similar venture with a value-adding
twist, farmers who wanted to convert their harvest into
high-value products formed a marketing cooperative
called Appalachian Spring. With a SARE grant, Steve
Hodges and the Jubilee Project investigated the feasibil-
ity of using a community kitchen in the nearby town of
Treadway, then co-marketing their products - a variety of
salsas, fruit spreads and personal care goods. Once they
crunched the numbers and saw a positive prognosis,
they began selling the items through the co-op's Website
as well as through retail locations such as a regional
airport gift shop.

The group also sells seasonal gift baskets to area
church groups, a terrific way to highlight local products.
"We tried wholesaling at first," Hodges says, "but we
found that small processors just can't compete against
big companies, even with a co-op." In addition to joint
marketing, co-op membership offers other benefits, like
sharing equipment and bulk ordering supplies.

Cooperative marketing can be a great opportunity -
or a headache. Here are some tips on how to make it
work for you:

<"*- The USDA Rural Development Business & Coopera-
tive program offers information and assistance in
setting up and managing a cooperative marketing
effort. It's a great place to start (Resources, p. 20).
r ^ Consider a marketing club, an informal cooperative
that relies on using member marketing skills. Many
extension offices offer training programs and assis-
tance in setting up marketing clubs.
^ Join a nonprofit farmer network group to share

ideas and inspiration.
^ Adequate market research and business planning
are keys to successful cooperative marketing.

In Tennessee,
farmers who
wanted to convert
their harvest
into high-value
products formed
a marketing
cooperative called
Appalachian
Spring. With a
SARE grant,
they opened
a community
kitchen.

left to right

The Mountain Tailgate
Market Association
unites a number of
small farmers markets
representing 150 small
farms in western
North Carolina,
funding a multi-media
promotional campaign,
among other ventures.
— Photo by Charlie Jackson

Buy Fresh, Buy Local
campaigns sponsored
by Food Routes
(www.foodroutes.org)
boost sales of local
products across the
United States.

Buy Local Campaigns

PUBLIC CAMPAIGNS CAN ENGAGE CONSUMERS AND PROMOTE
purchases from farmers and ranchers. In 2003, Califor-
nia vegetable grower MaryAnn Vasconcellos approached
the Central Coast Resource Conservation & Develop-
ment Council (RC&D) with the idea of launching a
campaign informing consumers why and where to buy
local. Vasconcellos, who had spoken with many area
growers while conducting workshops for the nonprofit
Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF),
reported that many were asking how they might better
market their products.

To Vasconcellos, the time seemed right to approach
California consumers with messages about how they
could convert a growing interest in food to supporting
local farmers. If consumers were willing to pay for open
spaces by supporting local producers, why not help
connect growers and consumers by branding their
food, fiber and flowers as local?

With a farmer/rancher grant from SARE, Vasconcellos
and the Central Coast RC&D designed and launched
a Website, designed a "buy local" label and created a
marketing structure that farmers could see working.
The "Buy Fresh Buy Local" campaign was designed to
reflect the wide array of products and the diversity
of their operations, which included u-pick, farm stands
and markets and such varied goods as alpaca fleeces,
grass-fed beef and lamb, as well as fruit and vegetables.

"Buy local" campaigns are underway in many parts
of the country. Nationally, the FoodRoutes Network

offers low-cost and customized publicity materials to
help you or your group start a "buy local" campaign.

In remote rural areas, farmers banding together have
strengthened market development. Ten farmers markets
representing 150 small farms in western North Carolina
joined forces to form the Mountain Tailgate Market
Association (MTMA), bringing the power of a group
behind promotion and performance. The term tailgate
market, in fact, may be unique to the rural South,
referring to lots and school yards where farmers drop
their tailgates to reveal fresh-picked bounty. Since tailgate
markets lean toward a show-up and set-up style, the
small venues can be challenging to promote for farmers,
many of whom have limited resources, as well as their
small rural communities.

A SARE grant provided the resources to develop a
logo for the association, conduct a multi-media promo-
tional campaign, survey shoppers and vendors at all
10 markets, and conduct a workshop for the vendors.
According to project leader Charlie Jackson, a farmer
who is also on staff of the Appalachian Sustainable
Agriculture Project, the SARE activities resulted in
heightened visibility of the markets, brought many
new customers, provided a strong base of information
on customer and vendor perceptions of the markets
and strengthened the cohesiveness of the group.

Surveys were particularly valuable, considering that
about 1,600 customers and 60 vendors responded. The
rapid feedback guided future promotional decisions.
For example, the surveys indicated that most new

customers found the markets through word of mouth,
so the vendors capitalized on that by asking customers
to bring a friend on a particular market day designated
as Summer Celebration. That day was the season's high
point for traffic and sales.

"It's inspiring to see a group of farmers sitting down
and planning together," Jackson says. "Group promotion
is a major benefit of the association." That cooperation
has led to plans for a 100-vendor market in Asheville, N.C.

Internet

AS INTERNET SALES CONTINUE TO GROW, CREATIVE FARMERS
are jumping on board. The convenience of Web shopping
appeals to today's busy consumers looking for unique
products. The good news: You don't need to be a
copywriter or a computer expert to tap into millions
of potential buyers, although maintaining a successful
Website can be challenging and time-consuming.
Website design services have gotten more affordable in
recent years, so contracting this out may make sense.

Even if you don't plan to sell your products over the
Internet or via mail order, hosting a Website describing
your farm, your location, hours, seasonal availability
and other information makes good business sense.
More and more people use the Internet as an all-pur-
pose research tool in place of phone directories, maps
and guidebooks.

A Website is also a terrific place to tell your story,
a tried-and-true marketing strategy. Have a friend or

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relative with a knack for photography - or a local art
student or newspaper photographer - capture images
of you, your family, key employees, your products, and
a scenic view of your farm or ranch. Include a short
"about us" section describing your farm's history, goals
and values. Remember that reporters and researchers
rely on the Internet too! Having an accessible, easy-to-
navigate Website can multiply your promotional oppor-
tunities later.

Maryland farmers Robin and Mark Way developed a
Website as part of a multifaceted "branding" campaign
for their diversified, pasture-based livestock operation,
Rumbleway Farm. Along with the Website, Robin Way
made business cards, brochures, T-shirts, and an atten-
tion-getting farm sign, all featuring the farm's signature
yellow chicken outlined in green. Way even created her
own farm "blog," a software tool that lets you post regular
entries in a journal-type format to share news, recipes, or
other ideas. Way asserts the Website and other measures
have had a huge impact on business.

Marketing cooperatives can offer a broader range of
retail products on a single Website, increasing traffic while
saving on the cost of Website design and maintenance.
Appalachian Spring Cooperative (see p. 15) tried other
marketing avenues, but found the Internet among their
most effective channels.

Participating in online information gateways can
result in extra business. Nationally, localharvest.org lists
close to 10,000 venues where farmers and ranchers sell
their products. The Maryland Extension Service, with
help from a SARE grant, expanded an Internet-based
sheep and goat marketing project begun in the North-
east to include the mid-Atlantic states. The new Website,
www.sheepgoatmarketing.info, includes producer and
processor directories as well as other resources such
as a calendar of relevant religious holidays.

FEATURED FARM/RANCH WEBSITES:

nk - Appalachian Spring Coop, www.apspringcoop.com

n ^ Buffalo Groves, Inc., www.buffalogroves.com

n ^ Chico Basin Ranch, www.chicobasinranch.com

n ^ Full Belly Farm, www.fullbellyfarm.com

n ^ Persimmon Hill Farm, www.persimmonhill.com

n ^ Rumbleway Farm, www.rumblewayfarm.com

n ^ Texas Organic Cotton Marketing Cooperative, www.organicessentials.com

^ Walters' Pumpkin Patch, www.walterspumpkinpatch.com.

^ Wholesome Harvest, www.wholesomeharvest.com

A SARE-supported
project in New
England found
that farmers
could grow and
crush canola
for both meal
and biodiesel,
which brought a
competitive price.

The Website "helps me put buyers and sellers in
contact," says project leader Susan Schoenian, who
hopes to add nationwide listings. "All of the producers
I come into contact with credit the site with helping
them to sell breeding stock and meat animals."

Many state departments of agriculture now maintain
online directories of organic farms, pick-your-own farms
and farm stands. Make sure your farm is included on
these, and if possible, feature your Web address in your
listing. Having links to your Website appear on other
sites will improve your ranking among results returned
by Internet search engines.

You can also drive traffic to your Website by
gathering customers' e-mail addresses and then
sending weekly or monthly e-mail announcements
to advertise new products, special events or seasonal
offerings.

Now that Internet marketing has proliferated, online
competition for consumers' attention is fierce. Attracting
buyers can be difficult when hundreds of other farmers
offer similar products in catalogs or Websites. To stay in
the game, you need to maintain a good Website. If it's
not current, a customer will zip away with a click of
the mouse.

If you're interested in investigating the potential
of mail or Internet marketing, keep in mind:
^ When it comes to effective design, less can be
more. Resist the temptation to overload your
Website with flashing banners and fancy fonts.
^ Once you have a great Website, you still have to
attract users. Strive to get a good ranking on search
engines like Google by driving people to your site
from online links and e-mail alerts. Good Web
designers know how to improve your ranking by
using keywords. Having a distinctive farm name
can also be a plus.
^ List your Web address and other information
in online directories that strive to connect
farmers and consumers, such as localharvest.org,
eatwellguide.org and eatwild.com. Most of
these sites are eager for new listings and will
allow to you to create a customized entry free
of charge.
^ Update your Website often with your latest

product information and news about the farm.
n ^ Make sure the site is secure for credit-card users,
and provide regular and toll-free numbers for
customers who prefer to use the phone.
^ Find reliable and cost-effective shippers who
will deliver products on time in good condition.

Renewable Energy

FARMERS GROWING GRAINS AND OILSEEDS MAY FIND NEW
markets if interest in bio-based fuels continues to grow.
Ethanol and biodiesel processing plants are increasingly
common in the Midwest, while smaller-scale projects
are being tested in the Northeast and other areas.

A SARE-supported project in Maine and Vermont
found that farmers could grow and crush canola for
$293 per ton, yielding 1,180 pounds of meal and
92 gallons of oil. Including the income from sale of the
meal, the break-even price of the biodiesel processed
from the canola oil came out at $3.09/gallon - a
competitive price for a renewable fuel.

"Farmers are interested in producing a crop whose
value is tied to the price of fuel," says project leader
Peter Sexton. "There's also a great deal of personal
satisfaction to be gained from producing your own fuel."

While it's hard to say exactly how the renewable fuels
market will develop in coming years, with processing
technologies improving and demand on the rise, fuel-
crop production offers an array of opportunities for
creating value-added products.

Installing photovoltaic panels or wind turbines,
can reduce energy expenses over the long term and
provide additional interest for farm visitors. See
www.sare.org/coreinfo/energy.htm for more information
about farm-based renewable energy.

Evaluating New Farm Enterprises

WHETHER YOU'RE LAUNCHING A NEW FARM BUSINESS OR
retooling an existing one, analyzing all of your possibili-
ties is crucial to the success of your venture. Consider
writing a business plan, a road map that specifies your
priorities, goals and objectives. Moreover, business
plans provide a framework for reviewing your progress
and pointing out the need for mid-course corrections.

If you want to undertake business planning, consider
using Building a Sustainable Business: A Planning Guide
for Farmers and Rural Business Owners (Resources, p. 20),
a 280-page guide to planning, implementation and
evaluation. The book, co-published by SARE's Sustainable
Agriculture Network, includes dozens of worksheets
to help you navigate the process.

With an existing farm operation, you should be able
to do a basic enterprise analysis using the records you
have to keep for tax purposes, says Seth Wilner, a county
extension agent with the University of New Hampshire.
"Look at your profitability, then look for anomalies.
Maybe you thought blueberries were a profit center, say,
but they're not. So maybe you should shift things around."

TRYING A NEW VENTURE? FIRST, MAKE A SOLID PLAN.

Before Earnie and Martha Bohner, farmers since
1982, launch value-added products, they analyze
all the costs and benefits. After starting their
farm with two acres of blueberries, they added
other small fruits, then began processing them.
Today, they cultivate 7 acres in Lampe, Mo.,
and enjoy a comfortable income. Yet, they
adopted each new enterprise only after asking
a series of soul-searching questions, such as:
n ^ Will the product fit in with the farm

operation?
^ Is the product consistent with the farm's

mission and purpose?
n ^ Will the product be economically

sustainable?

In 2004, they explored freeze-drying shiitake
mushrooms as a new way to add value. Armed
with a SARE farmer grant, Earnie plunged into
research. He found an inexpensive dryer, but
it required a prohibitive amount of energy to
operate, a cost he needed to justify with a

lucrative end product.

When he ran the costs - raw product, packag-
ing, bags, labels, packing and shipping - he found
that the freeze-drying was considerably more
expensive than air-drying, a distinction that
might be lost on customers.

Earnie ran the numbers on further processing
the mushrooms into soup mix, adding still more
value. Drying the mushrooms off site brought
down their costs, and they could charge enough
for a premium soup mix to more than offset
them. The Bohners debuted the soup mix in
2006 to an enthusiastic response.

What's next? More planning as the couple
attempts to move into wholesale marketing
of shiitakes.

"After evaluation in three to four test markets,
we will be better able to make an economically
sound decision as to whether we can justify
building our own freeze-drying facility,"
Earnie says.

You might consider seeking outside help with a
specific element of your plan, like marketing. For a
medium-sized direct marketing farm business, working
with a marketing consultant will typically cost between
$1,000 and $3,000. Hiring a consultant is a good idea if
you're not sure how to get started or if you lack the time
to go through the process on your own. "It's definitely a
worthwhile investment if you're in the retail market,"
Wilner says. "It's a lifetime investment."

Failure to judge the true demand for a product is
a common cause of failure in many business ventures.
To improve your odds, be thorough about your market
research. Good research entails finding out as much
as possible about your planned products or services.
Investigate as many marketing options as possible and
identify several that look promising. The more ways
and places you have to sell your product, the better
your chances of success.

Promotion and customer relations should be part
of your marketing plan. A common rule of thumb for
promotional expenses is 3 percent of projected sales.

In New Hampshire, Wilner helped three farms
improve their bottom line by working with a marketing
consultant, partly with a SARE grant aimed at building
marketing skills for both farmers and county Extension.

For example, Beaver Pond Farm, a well-established
farm near Newport, N.H., specializing in pick-your-own

raspberries, used the consultant's advice to improve
signage, raise prices on some items and adjust the layout
of their farm stand to improve product visibility. They
planted blueberries to diversify their crop mix and
began selling meat, apples, cheeses and milk from
other local farms in addition to their own products.

"People want more one-stop shopping. The customers
haven't batted an eye on the price hikes," Wilner says.
"The farm's gone from breaking even or maybe losing a
little money to having two good seasons."

Marketing activities are guided by a variety of regula-
tions at federal, state, county and municipal levels. Some
vary by type of enterprise and location, while others are
more general. Legal considerations include the type of
business ownership (sole proprietorship, partnership,
etc.), zoning ordinances, small business licenses, build-
ing codes and permits, weights and measures, federal
and state business tax issues, sanitation permits and
inspections, food processors' permits and more. For
more information, consult the Legal Guide for Direct
Farm Marketing (Resources, p. 20).

Adequate insurance coverage is essential. Every
operator should have liability insurance for products and
premises, employer's liability, and damage insurance to
protect against loss to buildings, merchandise and other
property. Ask your insurance agent about liability and loss
insurance specifically designed for direct-market farmers.

Resources

GENERAL INFORMATION
Sustainable Agriculture Research
and Education (SARE) program.

SARE studies and spreads information
about sustainable agriculture via a na-
tionwide grants program and practi-
cal publications. (301) 504-5230;
sare_comm@sare.org; www.sare.org.
See the Direct Marketing Resource
Guide at www.sare.org/publications/
dmrg.htm.

Alternative Farming Systems Infor-
mation Center (AFSIC).

Provides on-line information resources,
referrals and searching on alternative
marketing topics. (301) 504-6559;
afsic@nal.usda.gov;
www.afsic.nal.usda.gov. See compre-
hensive directory, Organic Agricul-
tural Products: Marketing and Trade
Resources, www.nal.usda.gov/
afsic/AFSIC_pubs/OAP/srb0301.htm,
or request free CD.

Agricultural Marketing Resource
Center. Information resources for
value-added agriculture.
www.agmrc.org.

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS),
USDA. Information on direct markets,
funding sources and publications
about sales to schools/restaurants.
www.ams.usda.gov/tmd/MSB/publi-
cations.htm.

ATTRA. National information service
offers 200+ free publications.
Call (800) 346-9140; Spanish:
(800) 411-3222; or go to
http://attra.ncat.org for:

- Direct Marketing Business
Management Series

- Adding Value to Farm Products:
An Overview

- Fresh to Processed: Adding Value
for Specialty Markets

- Bringing Local Food to Local
Institutions.

Growing for Market. National
monthly newsletter for direct market
farmers. $30/yr. growing4market@
earthlink.net; (800) 307-8949;
www.growingformarket.com.

North American Farmers'
Direct Marketing Association,

Southampton, MA (413) 529-0386 or
) 884-9270; www.nafdma.com.

FARMERS MARKETS/

AGRITOURISM
Agritourism and Nature Tourism in
California by University of California,
Davis, http://ucce.ucdavis.edu/
files/filelibrary/5327/3866.pdf.

Center for Agribusiness and
Economic Development.

Lists publications on running farm-
stands, promoting "agri-tainment,"
etc. www.caed.uga.edu..

Direct Farm Marketing and Tourism
Handbook by the University of
Arizona, http://ag.arizona.edu/arec/
pubs/dmkt/dmkt.html.

Farmers Market Promotion
Program. Grants program from USDA's
Agricultural Marketing Service for
farmers markets, roadside stands, CSA.
www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/
FMPP/FMPPInfo.htm. Also see Farmers
Market Consortium Resource Guide,
www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/
Consortium/ResourceGuide.htm.

Managing the Liability and Risks
of Farm Direct Marketing and Agri-
tourism by USDA's Risk Management
Agency. Resources for understanding
and analyzing potential liability risks.
http://www.communityagcenter.org/
Risk_l_iability/Risk_lntroduction.htm.

Market Decision Making Toolbox
for Farmers Markets. Michigan Food
& Farming System, www.miffsmarket
line.org/projects/greeen.html.

Resources for Farmers Markets by

the Northeast/Midwest Institute.
Includes market locators and funding
sources, www.farmersmarketsusa.org.

The New Farmers' Market:
Farm-Fresh Ideas For Producers,
Managers & Communities by Eric
Gibson. Tips for farmers and market
managers and city planners. $24.95 +
$3.95. www.sare.org/publications/
newfarmer.htm; (301) 374-9696.

Sharing the Harvest: A Guide to
Community-Supported Agriculture

by Elizabeth Henderson with Robyn
Van En. Lays out the basic tenets of
CSA for farmers and consumers.
270 pp; $24.95. (800) 639-4099;
www.chelseagreen.com.

Tourism & Community Development
Resources & Applied Research
Clearinghouse, University of Wiscon-
sin, Madison, www.wisc.edu/urpl/peo-
ple/marcouiller/projects/clearing
house/Tourism%20Resources.htm.

DIRECT MARKETING MEAT
AND ANIMAL PRODUCTS
CSU Chico Grass-Fed Beef Website.

Includes research articles reviewing
the documented health benefits of
grass-fed beef, information on how to
create a label for your meat that
complies with federal regulations,
recipes and more.
www.csuchico.edu/agr/grassfedbeef.

Farm Fresh: Direct Marketing
Meats and Milk by Allan Nation.
Answers to how, how much, when, or
where to sell grass-fed meat or milk
for the highest profits. 251 pp; $35.60.
www.stockmangrassfarmer.net/
cgi-bin/page.cgi?id=361.html.

How to Direct Market Your Beef by

the Sustainable Agriculture Network.
Practical tips for selling grass-raised
beef to direct markets. 96 pp; $14.95.
www.sare.org/publications/beef.htm;
(301) 374-9696.

VALUE-ADDED PRODUCTS/
PROCESSING/SELLING DIRECT
Farmers and their Diversified
Horticultural Marketing Strategies

by the Center for Sustainable Agricul-
ture. 48-minute video, $15.
www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/Videos/
marketvideo.htm; (802) 656-5459.

Food Marketing & Processing Food
Map. A comprehensive clearinghouse
of marketing and processing informa-
tion on identifying new markets, lo-
cating processing equipment, etc.
www.foodmap.unl.edu.

Safe Sell Dairy: Creative Ways
to Sell Dairy Products at Farmer's
Markets by Courtney Haase. Product
presentation, sampling and good
market etiquette. 76 pp.; $8.
www.nunsuch.org/safesell.htm.

Selling Directly to Restaurants
and Retailers by UC-SAREP. Tips
for a successful, entrepreneurial
relationship with local restaurants,
retailers, www.sarep.ucdavis.edu/
cdpp/selldirect.pdf.

BUSINESS PLANNING &

MANAGEMENT
Building a Sustainable Business:
A Guide to Developing a Business
Plan for Farms and Rural Businesses,
by the Minnesota Institute for
Sustainable Agriculture and the
Sustainable Agriculture Network. A
guide for agricultural entrepreneurs.
272 pp; $17 + s/h. www.sare.org/publi
cations/ business.htm; (301) 374-9696.

Farming Alternatives: A Guide to
Evaluating the Feasibility of New
Farm-Based Enterprises (NRAES-32).
$8 + $3.75 s/h to Natural Resource,
Ag & Engineering Service.
http://extensionpubs.umext.maine.
edu/ePOS/form=robots/item.html&
item_number=1036&store=413&
design=413; (607) 255-7654.

The Legal Guide for Direct Farm
Marketing by Neil Hamilton. Tips
about legal issues when direct-
marketing farm products. $20 + $3 s/h
to Agricultural Law Center, Drake
University, www.amazon.com;
(515) 271-2947.

New Farm Options University of
Wisconsin Extension. New niche
markets and business start-up issues.
www.uwex.edu/ces/agmarkets.

NxLeveL This agricultural entrepre-
neurs program module offers in-depth
training and materials for farmers
seeking marketing opportunities.
www.nxlevel.org; info@nxlevel.org;
(800) 873-9378.

USDA Rural Business and
Cooperative Programs. Supports
cooperatives in areas such as market-
ing. www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs;
(202) 720-7558.

SARE works in partnership with
Extension and Experiment Stations
at land grant universities to deliver
practical information to the agricultural
community. Contact your local Exten-
sion office for more information.

This bulletin was written by Laura Sayre,
a freelance writer based in Bucks
County, Pa., for the Sustainable
Agriculture Network and was funded
by USDA-CSREES under Cooperative
Agreement 2004-47001-01829.

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